Paper sheet handling machine

ABSTRACT

A paper sheet handling machine  1  comprises a casing  92  and at least two stacking units  30, 40  provided in the casing  92 . Each stacking unit  30, 40  is configured to stack therein paper sheets respectively taken in the casing  92  by a take-in unit  10 . From among the paper sheets transported by a transport unit  20 , the paper sheets, each judged to be stored in the stacking unit  30  or  40  by a recognition unit  28 , are diverted from the transport unit  20  and fed into the stacking unit  30  or  40 , by each diverter  60, 62 . A reject unit  50  is connected with the transport unit  20  on the downstream side of the diverters  60, 62 . To the reject unit  50 , the paper sheets that are not diverted from the transport unit  20  by the respective diverters  60, 62  are fed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a paper sheet handling machine, whichcan take paper sheets therein, one by one, from the exterior, and thensort and store the paper sheets taken in the machine into a plurality ofstacking units.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the past, a banknote handling machine, which can store thereinbanknotes deposited from a customer, while sorting them, for eachdenomination of money, has been known. In the banknote handling machineof this type, the banknotes are first received in a hopper upon adeposit operation for the banknotes, and then the banknotes received inthe hopper are fed into the banknote handling machine, one by one, by abanknote feeding unit.

Thereafter, the banknotes fed in the banknote handling machine are firstdetected, respectively, by a recognition unit provided to a transportpath, in regard to the fitness, authenticity, denomination, orientation,face/back, transported condition and the like. Then, the banknotes thatcannot be recognized by the recognition unit (e.g., damaged unfitbanknotes or the like) and/or banknotes that have been excluded from thebanknotes to be stored in each stacking unit, because of their abnormaltransported condition (e.g., an obliquely transported condition or thelike) even after they have been recognized, will be fed to a reject unitprovided in the banknote handling machine. From among the banknotestaken in the banknote handling machine, the banknotes judged to be fedto the reject unit by the recognition unit will be referred to as“rejected banknotes” below.

Meanwhile, the banknotes judged to be stored in the banknote handlingmachine by the recognition unit are sorted, for example, for eachdenomination thereof, based on each recognition result of therecognition unit, and then fed selectively to each stacking unitcorresponding to the denomination. In this way, the banknotes receivedin the hopper of the banknote handling machine can be sorted for eachdenomination thereof and then stored in the banknote handling machine.

For instance, the banknote handling machine as described above isdisclosed in JP2003-276875A.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In the above conventional banknote handling machine, a diverter (ordiverters) is provided in a position downstream relative to therecognition unit, in the middle of the transport path running from thehopper toward each stacking unit. This diverter has a nail-like shapeand serves to selectively divert the banknotes, each having beentransported along the transport path, from the same. With suchconfiguration, each banknote judged to be the rejected banknote by therecognition unit can be selectively diverted by the diverter from thetransport path and then fed to the reject unit. Meanwhile, the banknotejudged to be stored in the banknote handling machine by the recognitionunit will be continuously transported along the transport path, withoutbeing diverted from the transport path by the diverter, and thusdirectly fed into each stacking unit. Namely, the diverter can serve toselectively divert each rejected banknote, such as the banknote underthe abnormal transported condition (e.g., the obliquely transportedcondition or the like), damaged unfit banknote or the like, from thetransport path toward the reject unit, in the middle of the transportpath, thereby removing such a rejected banknote, in an early stage, fromthe transport path.

However, in such a banknote handling machine as described above, eachrejected banknote may tend to be unduly curved along the nail-like shapeof the diverter, immediately after the rejected banknote is divertedfrom the transport path by the diverter. For instance, in the banknotehandling machine disclosed in the above JP2003-276875A, each rejectedbanknote is curved, by approximately 90°, immediately after beingdiverted by the diverter (or gate G1). In particular, when the banknotesunder the abnormal transported condition and/or unfit banknotes areexcessively curved, after being diverted from the transport path, a jamof the banknotes may be caused and even the operation of the banknotehandling machine may be stopped. In order to recover the banknotehandling machine from such a jam condition, it is necessary for anoperator to open a casing of the banknote handling machine and removethe jammed banknotes by hand, thus taking unduly much time forrecovering the banknote handling machine.

The present invention was made in light of the above problems.Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a new papersheet handling machine, which can successfully prevent occurrence of thejam of the paper sheets, upon transporting the rejected paper sheetsfrom a transport unit to a reject unit, thereby significantly enhancingthe throughput.

A paper sheet handling machine according to the present inventioncomprises: a casing; a take-in unit configured to take paper sheets, oneby one, into the casing from the exterior; a transport unit provided inthe casing and configured to transport the paper sheets taken in by thetake-in unit, successively, one by one, in the casing; a recognitionunit provided to the transport unit and configured to recognize eachpaper sheet transported by the transport unit; at least two stackingunits provided in the casing, each stacking unit being configured tostack therein the paper sheets taken in the casing by the take-in unit;a diverter provided to the transport unit on the downstream side of therecognition unit and configured to divert a portion of the paper sheets,from among the paper sheets transported by the transport unit, from thetransport unit to feed the diverted paper sheets to each stacking unit;a reject unit connected with the transport unit on the downstream sideof the diverter and configured to receive the paper sheets that are notdiverted from the transport unit by the diverter; and a control unitconfigured to control the diverter to divert the paper sheetsrespectively judged to be stored in each stacking unit, from thetransport unit to feed the diverted paper sheets to each stacking unit,based on each recognition result on the paper sheets provided from therecognition unit.

According to the above paper sheet handling machine, at least twostacking units, each adapted for stacking therein the paper sheets takenin the casing by the take-in unit, are provided in the casing. Inaddition, the paper sheets judged to be stored in the stacking units(e.g., the paper sheets judged to be the normal paper sheets), fromamong the paper sheets transported by the transport unit, can bediverted from the transport unit and selectively fed into the stackingunits by the diverter. Thus, the paper sheets judged to be removed fromthe casing by the recognition unit (i.e., the rejected paper sheets),such as the paper sheets that cannot be recognized by the recognitionunit (e.g., the damaged unfit paper sheets or the like) and/or papersheets that have been excluded from the paper sheets to be stored ineach stacking unit, because of their abnormal transported condition,even after they have been sufficiently recognized, from among the papersheets taken in the casing by the take-in unit, will be transported bythe transport unit, without being diverted from the transport unit bythe diverter, and thus fed to the reject unit. Therefore, each rejectedpaper sheet can be fed to the reject unit, without being excessivelycurved in the vicinity of the diverter. Accordingly, the occurrence ofthe jam of the paper sheets, upon transporting the rejected paper sheetsfrom the transport unit to the reject unit, can be successfully avoided,thereby significantly enhancing the throughput of the paper sheethandling machine.

In the paper sheet handling machine of the present invention, it ispreferred that upon a feed operation of the paper sheets from thetransport unit to the reject unit, each paper sheet can be releasedtoward the reject unit from the transport unit, in substantially thesame direction as the transport direction of the paper sheet transportedby the transport unit immediately before being fed out to the rejectunit. Thus, rejected paper sheets can be released from the transportunit toward the reject unit, without being curved. Therefore, theoccurrence of the jam of the paper sheets can be prevented, moreeffectively, upon transporting each rejected paper sheet from thetransport unit to the reject unit.

In the paper sheet handling machine of the present invention, it ispreferred that the transport unit includes a first transport mechanismextending in a substantially horizontal direction, a second transportmechanism extending in the substantially horizontal direction below thefirst transport mechanism, and an intermediate transport mechanismprovided between the first transport mechanism and the second transportmechanism, and that each paper sheet taken in the casing from theexterior by the take-in unit is transported by the first transportmechanism, intermediate transport mechanism and second transportmechanism, in this order. Thus, each paper sheet can be transported inthe substantially horizontal direction, both by the first transportmechanism and by the second transport mechanism, without being undulycurved. Therefore, the occurrence of the jam of the paper sheets,especially the occurrence of the jam caused by the rejected papersheets, on the transport unit can be prevented more securely. Further,the transport operation for transporting each paper sheet from an upperposition to a lower position can successfully avoid transportation ofthe paper sheets in a direction against gravity. This can eliminate aneed for always gripping (or grasping) each paper sheet, such as byusing proper transport belts or the like, during the transportoperation, unlike the case requiring to transport the paper sheet fromthe lower position to the upper position. Therefore, the occurrence ofthe jam in the transport unit can be further prevented. Preferably, thetransport unit has a substantially U-like shape.

In the paper sheet handling machine of the present invention, it ispreferred that the recognition unit is located in the first transportmechanism. Preferably, the diverter is located in the second transportmechanism, and the reject unit is connected with a downstream end of thesecond transport mechanism.

In the paper sheet handling machine of the present invention, it ispreferred that the reject unit is provided below the take-in unit. Thus,each paper sheet can be transported from the upper position to the lowerposition, thereby preventing the paper sheet from being transported inthe direction against gravity. This can eliminate a need for alwaysgripping (or grasping) each paper sheet, such as by using propertransport belts or the like, during the transport operation, unlike thecase requiring to transport the paper sheet from the lower position tothe upper position. Therefore, the occurrence of the jam in thetransport unit can be further prevented. Additionally, in the case inwhich the rejected paper sheets fed into the reject unit are required tobe recognized again by the recognition unit, the position of the take-inunit located above the reject unit can facilitate the re-set of therejected paper sheets into the paper sheet feeding unit.

In the paper sheet handling machine of the present invention, it ispreferred that the control unit can further control the transport unitand diverter to feed the paper sheets present on the transport unit tothe reject unit, when the paper sheets, each judged to be stacked ineach stacking unit by the recognition unit, can no longer be fed to thestacking unit. For instance, the paper sheets, each judged to be thenormal paper sheet by the recognition unit, may be jammed at, forexample, an inlet of each stacking unit or the like, after beingdiverted from the transport unit by the diverter. Otherwise, the papersheets may get delayed on the transport unit. In such cases, the papersheets once taken in the casing can no longer be fed to each stackingunit. According to the above paper sheet handling machine, however, thecontrol unit can drive the transport unit and diverter to feed the papersheets remaining on the transport unit to the reject unit. This caneliminate the need to open the casing of the paper sheet handlingmachine and remove, by hand, the paper sheets remaining on the transportunit, thus saving the time for recovering the paper sheet handlingmachine.

In the paper sheet handling machine of the present invention, it ispreferred that a detection unit configured to detect each paper sheettransported by the transport unit is provided to the transport unit, andthat the control unit can further control the transport unit anddiverter to feed the paper sheets present on the transport unit to thereject unit, when the detector detects stoppage of the paper sheets onthe transport unit. For instance, such stoppage of the paper sheets onthe transport unit may be caused by the jam of the paper sheets on thetransport unit, and therefore these paper sheets can no longer be fed toeach stacking unit. However, even in such a case, in order to remove thejam on the transport unit, the control unit can control the transportunit and diverter to feed the paper sheets remaining on the transportunit to the reject unit. Therefore, there is no need to open the casingof the paper sheet handling machine and remove, by hand, the jammedpaper sheets. Thus, the time required for recovering the paper sheethandling machine can be significantly saved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing external appearance of the banknotehandling machine (or paper sheet handling machine) related to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the internal construction ofthe banknote handling machine shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for illustrating the construction and operation ofeach diverter of the banknote handling machine shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is another diagram for illustrating the construction andoperation of each diverter of the banknote handling machine shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is still another diagram for illustrating the construction andoperation of each diverter of the banknote handling machine shown inFIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, one example, inwhich the paper sheet handling machine of this invention is used as thebanknote handling machine adapted for handling the banknotes, isdescribed. However, it should be noted that any other paper sheets(e.g., checks) than the banknotes can also be applied to the objecthandled by the paper sheet handling machine of this invention.

First of all, the general construction of the banknote handling machineof this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing external appearance of the banknotehandling machine 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the banknotehandling machine 1 comprises a casing 92 having a substantiallyrectangular parallelepiped shape, a hopper 11, a first stacking unit (orfirst stacker) 30, a second stacking unit (or second stacker) 40 and areject unit 50.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the internal construction ofthe banknote handling machine 1 shown in FIG. 1, and particularlyillustrates a transport system and a sensor system of the banknotehandling machine 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a transport unit 20 is providedin the casing 92 of the banknote handling machine 1. In this case, thetransport unit 20 can serve to successively transport the banknotes, oneby one, in the casing 92. In addition, a control unit 90 is provided inthe banknote handling machine 1, wherein this control unit 90 can serveto control the transport unit 22, diverters 60, 62 and the like.

Now, each component of the banknote handling machine 1 as constructedabove will be described.

The hopper 11 is configured, such that a plurality of banknotes can beplaced thereon, in a stacked condition, by the operator. In this case,the banknotes stored in the hopper 11 can be fed into the casing 92 ofthe banknote handling machine 1, one by one, by a banknote feeding unit(or take-in unit) 10.

The banknote feeding unit 10 includes a feed roller 12 adapted forfeeding out each banknote, a gate roller (or reverse-rotation roller) 14provided to be opposed to the feed roller 12 and configured to form agate part between the feed roller 12 and this gate roller 14, and kickerrollers 16, 18, each adapted for kicking out the banknotes stored in thehopper 11 toward the feed roller 12. It is noted that while one example,in which the kicker rollers 16, 18 are arranged in two in a longitudinaldirection, is shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement of the kicker rollers isnot limited to this example. For instance, only one kicker roller (e.g.,only the kicker roller 16) may be provided in the banknote handlingmachine 1. In either case, the banknotes taken in the casing 92 by thebanknote feeding unit 10 can be transported by the transport unit 20.

The transport unit 20 includes an upper transport mechanism (i.e., firsttransport mechanism) 22 extending in the substantially horizontaldirection, a lower transport mechanism (i.e., second transportmechanism) 24 extending in the substantially horizontal direction belowthe upper transport mechanism 22, and an intermediate transportmechanism 26 provided between the upper transport mechanism 22 and thelower transport mechanism 24. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport unit 20composed of the respective transport mechanisms 22, 24, 26 has thesubstantially U-like shape on the whole. In this case, the banknotestaken in the casing 92 by the banknote feeding unit 10 can betransported, one by one, by the upper transport mechanism 22,intermediate transport mechanism 26 and lower transport mechanism 24, inthis order. The upper transport mechanism 22, intermediate transportmechanism 26 and lower transport mechanism 24 are respectively composedof a combination of belt transport mechanisms. Specifically, each belttransport mechanism is composed of a pair of or three or more rollersand a belt, e.g., a rubber belt, provided over the rollers.

As shown in FIG. 2, a recognition unit 28 is provided to the uppertransport mechanism 22 of the transport unit 20. The recognition unit 28can serve to detect the fitness, authenticity, denomination,orientation, face/back, transported condition and the like of eachbanknote transported along the upper transport mechanism 22. As usedherein, the term “detect the transported condition” means to detect“whether or not the banknotes are transported obliquely”, “whether ornot the banknotes are transported in an overlapped condition”, “whetheror not the banknotes are transported in a chained condition” or thelike. Each recognition result of the recognition unit 28 can betransmitted to the control unit 90.

As shown in FIG. 2, two stacking units 30, 40 are further arranged, inparallel with each other, below the lower transport mechanism 24 of thetransport unit 20. Each of the stacking units 30, 40 is configured tostore therein, in the stacked condition, the banknotes that have beentaken in the casing 92 and then judged to be normal ones by therecognition unit 28. As shown in FIG. 1, the banknotes stacked in eachstacking unit 30, 40 can be optionally taken out by the operator.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, each stacking unit 30, 40 is designed tostore therein a batch of the banknotes in an inclined condition. Withsuch inclined stacked condition of the banknotes, the batch of thebanknotes stored in each stacking unit 30 or 40 can be taken out, withthe position in a width direction of each banknote well arranged alongeach side wall 30 a, 40 a of the stacking units 30, 40.

Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2, two diverters 60, 62 are provided, inseries, to the lower transport mechanism 24. Each diverter 60, 62 has,for example, a nail-like shape, and serves to divert a portion of thebanknotes transported along the lower transport mechanism 24, from thelower transport mechanism 24 toward each diversion line 34, 44. Thediversion lines 34, 44 are connected with the first and second stackingunits 30, 40, respectively. Thus, the banknotes diverted from the lowertransport mechanism 24 by the diverters 60, 62 can be fed into the firstand second stacking units 30, 40, via the diversion lines 34, 44,respectively. It is noted that each diversion line 34, 44 is greatlycurved in the vicinity of each diverter 60, 62, corresponding to theshape of the diverter 60 or 62.

In this embodiment, stacking wheels 32, 42 are provided to the first andsecond stacking units 30, 40, respectively. Each stacking wheel 32, 42has a function for first receiving each banknote released from eachdiversion line 34, 44 toward each stacking unit 30, 40, in a spaceprovided between each adjacent pair of vanes 32 a or 42 a of the wheel32, 42, then rotating to allow the banknote to be stored in eachstacking unit 30, 40, with the orientation and/or position of thebanknote appropriately arranged.

At a downstream end of the lower transport mechanism 24, a releaseroller 54 for feeding out each banknote and an opposite roller 56positioned to be opposed to the release roller 54 are provided. Withthis configuration, each banknote fed to the downstream end of the lowertransport mechanism 24 can be released from a gap between the releaseroller 54 and the opposite roller 56. Thereafter, each banknote releasedby the two rollers 54, 56 can be stacked, one on another, in the rejectunit 50, by a rotary rubber vane wheel 55 provided in the vicinity ofthe release roller 54 and adapted for beating the banknote. Thisconfiguration can facilitate the stacking operation for the rejectedbanknotes in the reject unit 50, because a rear edge of each banknotereleased from the gap between the release roller 54 and the oppositeroller 56 can be properly beaten by the rotary rubber vane wheel 55 forbeating the banknote.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a stopper 52 is provided to thereject unit 50. This stopper 52 can serve to prevent each banknote,which has been released from the gap between the release roller 54 andthe opposite roller 56, from getting out from the reject unit 50 to theoutside of the casing 92. Further, the stopper 52 can be rotated byhand. By rotating the stopper 52 by hand in a clockwise direction inFIG. 2, the operator can optionally take out the banknotes stored in thereject unit 50.

In this embodiment, each banknote can be released into the reject unit50 from the gap between the release roller 54 and the opposite roller56, with the direction in which the banknote is released kept in asubstantially horizontal direction, i.e., in a direction substantiallythe same as the transport direction of the banknote transported by thelower transport mechanism 24 in a position just before the releaseroller 54.

Next, the sensor system of the banknote handling machine 1 will bedescribed. As shown in FIG. 2, a sensor 70 for detecting whether or notthe banknotes are placed on the hopper 11 is provided to the banknotefeeding unit 10. Further, another sensor 71 is provided to an inlet ofthe upper transport mechanism 22 in the transport unit 20. This sensor71 can serve to detect that the respective banknotes are securely takenin the casing 92. Still another sensor 72 is composed of a transparentsensor constituting a part of the recognition unit 28. This sensor 72can serve to detect the denomination, authenticity or the like of eachbanknote, based on the light transmittance.

Sensors 73, 74, 75 are arranged in series along the lower transportmechanism 24 in the transport unit 20, respectively, while the diverters60, 62 are located between the sensors 73, 74 and between the sensors74, 75, respectively. The sensor 73 is located on the upstream siderelative to the diverter 60 and serves to detect all of the banknotestransported by the lower transport mechanism 24. Meanwhile, the sensor74 is located on the downstream side relative to the diverter 60 andserves to detect only the banknotes that are not diverted by thediverter 60, from among the banknotes transported by the lower transportmechanism 24. The sensor 75 is located on the downstream side relativeto the diverter 62, and serves to detect only the banknotes that are notdiverted by the diverter 62, from among the banknotes transported by thelower transport mechanism 24.

Furthermore, sensors 76, 77 are provided to the diversion lines 34, 44,respectively. These sensors 76, 77 can serve to detect the banknotesrespectively diverted from the lower transport mechanism 24 and fed tothe diversion lines 34, 44, respectively.

Additionally, sensors 78, 79 are provided to middle parts of the firstand second stacking units 30, 40, respectively. These sensors 78, 79 canserve to detect that the banknotes are stacked in each stacking unit 30,40, in an abnormal state, such as a standing state or the like,respectively. Furthermore, sensors 80, 81 are provided to lower parts ofthe first and second stacking units 30, 40, respectively. These sensors80, 81 can serve to detect whether or not the banknotes are stored inthe stacking units 30, 40, respectively. In addition, a sensor 82 isprovided to the reject unit 50. This sensor 82 can serve to detectwhether or not the banknotes are stored in the reject unit 50.

Each of the above sensors 70 to 82 is connected with the control unit90, so that detection results of these sensors 70 to 82 can betransmitted to the control unit 90, respectively.

The control unit 90 can serve to control the banknote feeding unit 10,respective transport mechanisms 22, 24, 26 of the transport unit 20,respective diverters 60, 62 and the like, based on the detection resulton each banknote detected by the respective sensors 70 to 82 as well ason each recognition result thereon obtained from the recognition unit28. More specifically, the control unit 90 can control each diverter 60,62 to divert the banknotes judged to be the normal ones from the lowertransport mechanism 24 and then feed them to either one of the stackingunits 30, 40, based on each recognition result on the banknotes obtainedfrom the recognition unit 28. It is noted that the operation of thiscontrol unit 90 will be detailed later.

Now, the operation of the banknote handling machine 1 as constructedabove will be discussed.

First, the plurality of banknotes are placed on the hopper in thestacked condition by the operator. Then, the banknotes stored in thehopper 11 are fed into the casing 92 of the banknote handling machine 1,one by one, by the banknote feeding unit 10. Thereafter, the banknotestaken in the casing 92 are transported by the transport unit 20.Specifically, the banknotes respectively taken in the casing 92 aretransported, by the upper transport mechanism 22, intermediate transportmechanism 26 and lower transport mechanism 24, in this order.

While the banknotes are transported by the transport unit 22, eachbanknote is detected by the recognition unit 28 about the fitness,authenticity, denomination, orientation, face/back, transportedcondition and the like thereof. In this case, the banknotes that cannotbe recognized by the recognition unit 28 (e.g., the damaged unfitbanknotes or the like) and/or banknotes that have been excluded from thebanknotes to be stored in each stacking unit 30, 40, because of theirabnormal transported condition (e.g., the obliquely transportedcondition or the like), even after they have been recognized, are judgedto be the “rejected banknotes” to be fed to the reject unit 50,respectively. Meanwhile, the banknotes that have satisfied predeterminedconditions and thus been judged to be the normal banknotes by therecognition unit 28 are recognized as the banknotes to be stored ineither one of the stacking units 30, 40, respectively.

Thereafter, the banknotes are fed to the lower transport mechanism 24from the upper transport mechanism 22 via the intermediate transportmechanism 26. From among the banknotes transported by the lowertransport mechanism 24, a portion of the banknotes will be diverted fromthe lower transport mechanism 24 and fed to each of the stacking units30, 40, by the diverters 60, 62, respectively. Now, the operation ofeach diverter 60, 62 provided to the lower transport mechanism 24 willbe detailed, with reference to FIGS. 3 through 5. As described above,the operation of each of the lower transport mechanism 24 and diverters60, 62 is controlled by the control unit 90.

Namely, before the banknotes stored in the hopper 11 are fed in thecasing 92 by the banknote feeding unit 10, as shown in FIG. 3, eachdiverter 60, 62 is in a position not allowing any banknote to bediverted from the lower transport mechanism 24 toward each diversionline 34, 44.

Thereafter, the banknotes stored in the hopper 11 are taken into thecasing 92 and then recognized by the recognition unit 28. For instance,if the recognition unit 28 is set with a pattern for recognizing thedenomination and/or fitness of Japanese banknotes, when the recognitionresult of the recognition unit 28 shows “normal thousand-yen banknote”,the diverter 60 is driven as depicted in FIG. 4, in accordance with thedetection result of the sensor 73 on this banknote. As a result, suchbanknote having been transported along the lower transport mechanism 24is diverted from the lower transport mechanism 24 and fed to thediversion line 34. Then, the banknote fed to the diversion line 34 isstored in the first stacking unit 30. Thereafter, if the normalthousand-yen banknote is continuously taken in the casing 92, therespective diverters 60, 62 will be kept in positions as shown in FIG.4.

Meanwhile, if the recognition result of the recognition unit 28 on thebanknote taken in the casing 92 shows, for example, “normalten-thousand-yen banknote”, the diverter 62 is driven as depicted inFIG. 5, in accordance with the detection result of the sensor 73 on thisbanknote. As a result, such banknote having been transported along thelower transport mechanism 24 is diverted from the transport mechanism 24and fed to the diversion line 44. During this operation, the diverter 60is kept in the position not allowing the banknote to be diverted fromthe lower transport mechanism 24. In this way, the banknote fed to thediversion line 44 is stored in the second stacking unit 40. Thereafter,if the normal ten-thousand-yen banknote is continuously taken in thecasing 92, the respective diverters 60, 62 will be kept in the positionsas shown in FIG. 5.

However, in the case in which the respective diverters 60, 62 are in thepositions as depicted in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, if the recognition result ofthe recognition unit 28 on the banknote transported by the uppertransport mechanism 22 shows some “rejected banknote,” (morespecifically, the banknote that cannot be recognized by the recognitionunit 28 (e.g., the damaged unfit banknote or the like) or banknote thathas been excluded from the banknotes to be stored in each stacking unit30, 40, because of its abnormal transported condition (e.g., theobliquely transported condition or the like), even after it has beenrecognized, or otherwise if a two-thousand-yen banknote orfive-thousand-yen banknote is recognized by the recognition unit 28),the respective diverters 60, 62 take the positions as depicted in FIG.3, allowing such a banknote to be directly fed to the reject unit 50.

Then, based on the detection result of each sensor 75, 76, 77, 80, 81,82 or the like, the control unit 90 judges that the banknotestransported by the lower transport mechanism 24 have been respectivelyfed to any of the stacking units 30, 40 and reject unit 50.

As described above, according to the banknote handling machine 1 of theabove embodiment, at least two stacking units 30, 40, each adapted forstacking therein the banknotes taken in the casing 92 by the banknotefeeding unit 10, are provided in the casing 92. In addition, thebanknotes judged to be stored in the stacking units 30, 40 (e.g., thebanknotes judged to be the normal banknotes), from among the banknotestransported by the transport unit 20, can be diverted from the transportunit 20 and selectively fed into the stacking units 30, 40, by thediverters 60, 62, respectively.

Thus, the banknotes judged to be removed from the casing 92 by therecognition unit 28 (i.e., the rejected banknotes), such as thebanknotes that cannot be recognized by the recognition unit 28 (e.g.,the damaged unfit banknotes or the like) and/or banknotes that have beenexcluded from the banknotes to be stored in each stacking unit 30, 40,because of their abnormal transported condition, even after they havebeen sufficiently recognized, from among the banknotes taken in thecasing 92 by the banknote feeding unit 10, will be transported by thetransport unit 20, without being diverted from the transport unit 20 bythe diverters 60, 62, and thus fed to the reject unit 50, respectively.Therefore, each rejected banknote can be fed to the reject unit 50,without being excessively curved in the vicinity of each diverter 60,62. Accordingly, the occurrence of the jam of the banknotes, upontransporting the rejected banknotes from the transport unit 20 to thereject unit 50, can be successfully avoided, thereby significantlyenhancing the throughput of the banknote handling machine 1.

Besides, each banknote can be released toward the reject unit 50 fromthe lower transport mechanism 24, in substantially the same direction asthe transport direction of the banknote which is transported on thelower transport mechanism 24, immediately before it is fed out towardthe reject unit 50. Thus, rejected banknotes can be released from thelower transport mechanism 24 toward the reject unit 50, without beingcurved. Therefore, the occurrence of the jam of the banknotes can beprevented, more effectively, upon transporting each rejected banknotefrom the lower transport mechanism 24 to the reject unit 50

In this embodiment, the transport unit 20 is composed of the uppertransport mechanism 22, lower transport mechanism 24 provided below theupper transport mechanism 22 and intermediate transport mechanism 26provided between the upper transport mechanism 22 and the lowertransport mechanism 24, while both of the upper transport mechanism 22and lower transport mechanism 24 extend in the substantially horizontaldirection, respectively. Thus, each banknote can be transported in thesubstantially horizontal direction, both by the upper transportmechanism 22 and by the lower transport mechanism 24, without beingunduly curved. Therefore, the occurrence of the jam of the banknotes,especially the occurrence of the jam caused by the rejected banknotes,on the transport unit 20 can be prevented more securely. Further, thetransport operation of this embodiment, for transporting each banknotefrom an upper position to a lower position, i.e., from the uppertransport mechanism 22 to the lower transport mechanism 24, cansuccessfully avoid transportation of the banknotes in a directionagainst gravity.

Furthermore, since the reject unit 50 is located below the banknotefeeding unit 10, as shown in FIG. 2, each banknote can be transportedfrom the upper position to the lower position, thereby preventing thebanknote from being transported in the direction against gravity. Thiscan eliminate a need for always gripping (or grasping) each banknote,such as by using proper transport belts or the like, during thetransport operation, unlike the case requiring to transport the banknotefrom the lower position to the upper position. Therefore, the occurrenceof the jam in the transport unit 20 can be further prevented.Additionally, in the case in which the rejected banknotes fed into thereject unit 50 are required to be recognized again by the recognitionunit 28, the position of the banknote feeding unit 10 located above thereject unit 50 can facilitate the re-set of the rejected banknotes intothe banknote feeding unit 10.

It should be noted that the banknote handling machine 1 of thisinvention is not limited to the aspect as described above, and variousmodifications or variations can be made thereto.

For instance, the number of the stacking units provided in the banknotehandling machine 1 is not limited to two, but may be three or more. Inthis case, it is preferred to provide a number of diverters anddiversion lines corresponding to the respective stacking units.

In addition to the control operation as described above, the controlunit 90 may further control the diverters 60, 62 and transport unit 20,as described below.

As one example of such variations of the operation of the control unit90, the control unit 90 may control the transport unit 20 and diverters60, 62 to feed each banknote present on the transport unit 20 to thereject unit 50, when the banknote that has been judged to be one to bestored in each stacking unit 30, 40 (e.g., the banknote judged to be thenormal one) by the recognition unit 28 can no longer be fed to thestacking unit 30 or 40.

For instance, the banknotes, each judged to be the normal banknote bythe recognition unit 28, may be jammed at, for example, an inlet of eachdiversion line 34, 44, each stacking unit 30, 40 or the like, afterbeing diverted from the transport unit 20 by each diverter 60, 62.Otherwise, the banknotes may get delayed on the transport unit 20. Insuch cases, the banknotes once taken in the casing 92 can no longer befed to each stacking unit 30, 40. However, the control unit 90 can drivethe transport unit 20 and diverters 60, 62 to feed the banknotesremaining on the transport unit 20 to the reject unit 50. This caneliminate the need to open the casing 92 of the banknote handlingmachine 1 and remove, by hand, the banknotes remaining on the transportunit 20, thus saving the time for recovering the banknote handlingmachine 1.

As another example of the variations of the operation of the controlunit 90, the control unit 90 may control the transport unit 20 anddiverters 60, 62 to feed the banknotes present on the transport unit 20to the reject unit 50, when some stoppage of the banknotes on thetransport unit 20 is detected by any of the sensors 71 to 77 and thelike.

For instance, such stoppage of the banknotes on the transport unit 20may be caused by the jam of the banknotes on the transport unit 20, andtherefore these banknotes can no longer be fed to each stacking unit 30,40. However, even in such a case, in order to remove the jam on thetransport unit 20, the control unit 90 can control the transport unit 20and diverters 60, 62 to feed the banknotes remaining on the transportunit 20 to the reject unit 50. Therefore, there is no need to open thecasing 92 of the banknote handling machine 1 and remove, by hand, thejammed banknotes. Thus, the time required for recovering the banknotehandling machine 1 can be significantly saved.

1. A paper sheet handling machine, comprising: a casing; an operationunit on a front face of the casing; a take-in unit having an opening inthe side face of the casing and configured to take paper sheets, one byone, into the casing from the exterior; a transport unit provided in thecasing and configured to transport the paper sheets taken in by thetake-in unit, successively, one by one, in the casing; a recognitionunit provided to the transport unit and configured to recognize eachpaper sheet transported by the transport unit; at least two stackingunits provided in the casing, each stacking unit being configured tostack therein the paper sheets taken in the casing by the take-in unit,each stacking unit being disposed laterally in juxtaposition and eachstacking unit having an opening in the front face of the casing, throughwhich opening paper sheets stacked in the stacking unit are removable byan operator; a diverter provided to the transport unit on the downstreamside of the recognition unit and configured to divert a portion of thepaper sheets, from among the paper sheets transported by the transportunit, from the transport unit to feed the diverted paper sheets to eachstacking unit; a reject unit connected with the transport unit on thedownstream side of the diverter and configured to receive the papersheets that are not diverted from the transport unit by the diverter;and a control unit configured to control the diverter to divert thepaper sheets respectively judged to be stored in each stacking unit,from the transport unit to feed the diverted paper sheets to eachstacking unit, based on each recognition result on the paper sheetsprovided from the recognition unit, wherein the transport unit includesa first transport mechanism extending in a substantially horizontaldirection, a second transport mechanism extending in the substantiallyhorizontal direction below the first transport mechanism, and anintermediate transport mechanism provided between the first transportmechanism and the second transport mechanism; wherein each paper sheettaken in the casing from the exterior by the take-in unit is transportedby the first transport mechanism, intermediate transport mechanism andsecond transport mechanism, in this order; wherein the transport unithas a substantially U-like shape; wherein the diverter is located in thesecond transport mechanism; wherein the reject unit is connected with adownstream end of the second transport mechanism; wherein each of thefirst transport mechanism and the second transport mechanism is disposedto transport paper sheets in a direction parallel to the front face ofthe casing; and wherein the reject unit has an opening in the side faceof the casing below the opening of the take-in unit through whichopening of the reject unit paper sheets received by the reject unit areremovable by an operator.
 2. The paper sheet handling machine accordingto claim 1, wherein upon a feed operation of the paper sheets from thetransport unit to the reject unit, each paper sheet can be releasedtoward the reject unit from the transport unit, in substantially thesame direction as the transport direction of the paper sheet transportedby the transport unit immediately before being fed out to the rejectunit.
 3. The paper sheet handling machine according to claim 1, whereinthe recognition unit is located in the first transport mechanism.
 4. Thepaper sheet handling machine according to claim 1, wherein the rejectunit is provided below the take-in unit.
 5. The paper sheet handlingmachine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit can furthercontrol the transport unit and diverter to feed the paper sheets presenton the transport unit to the reject unit, when the paper sheets, eachjudged to be stacked in each stacking unit by the recognition unit, canno longer be fed to the stacking unit.
 6. The paper sheet handlingmachine according to claim 1, wherein a detection unit configured todetect each paper sheet transported by the transport unit is provided tothe transport unit, and wherein the control unit can further control thetransport unit and diverter to feed the paper sheets present on thetransport unit to the reject unit, when the detector detects stoppage ofthe paper sheets on the transport unit.